Bahamas: Government has invited interest in the privatisation of Bahamas Telecommunications Company

[PRNewswire] In an advertisement published today in several domestic and international publications, the Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas issued a Notice of Privatization and announced the launch of the process to sell a 51% stake in The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd. The Notice encourages interested parties to participate in the registration and pre-qualification process.

The text of the advertisement follows:

REQUEST FOR REGISTRATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES FOR THE PRIVATIZATION OF THE BAHAMAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY LTD.

The Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas (the "Government") is seeking a partner to acquire a 51% shareholding, including operational control, in The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Ltd. ("BTC" or the "Company"), incorporated under the laws of The Bahamas.

The Company currently provides services to over 334,000 wireless (through its GSM and CDMA networks), 132,000 fixed line and 18,500 broadband customers throughout The Bahamas. In addition, BTC has some 190 roaming agreements in place serving the more than 4 million tourists who visit the Bahamas each year.

Given the importance of the telecommunications industry to The Bahamas and its economy, the Government seeks a strategic partner in BTC, who is able to demonstrate that they can bring many, if not all of the following attributes to BTC:

Strong reputation in the telecommunications industry

Ability and commitment to generate value-added revenue and cost synergies with BTC operations

Financial strength and operational platform to be able to enhance BTC's underlying network, services, billing and customer service

A history of strong financial performance

Interested parties are invited to register for the privatization process of BTC through the submission of a registration form (the "Registration Form") and the payment of a processing fee of US$25,000 (the "Registration Fee") on or before 15:00 hours (EST) on July 28, 2009. The Registration Form and guidelines on the submission of the Registration Form are available at: http://www.btcprivatization.com/.

Bahamian Government Issues Notice of Privatization for The Bahamas Telecommunications Company